Be My Lover Read Online Free

quarter to eight,” she
said. “Count on Anthony to always arrive early.”
    She offered Emily a fan and led her from the room.
    Downstairs they found Anthony in the foyer, talking to
Orlando who was holding their cloaks. Upon turning to face them, Anthony’s eyes
lit up and a smile slowly crossed his face as his gaze slid first over Jocelyn,
then Emily. Her fingers gripped the fan as that gaze penetrated her gown, stripping
the fabric from her body, peeling back the thin chemise to rest on her naked
skin. Heat exploded between her legs in an aching, tightening coil and she
barely suppressed a shiver. Who knew a pair of eyes held that kind of power?
    “Well,” he drawled at last. “It’s not often a man has the
pleasure of arriving at a soiree with two goddesses. I shall be the most envied
escort at Lord Barclay’s tonight.”
    His voice slid down her spine in a lazy spiral met by a rush
of desire flaming over Emily’s skin, and she longed to apply the fan hanging
from her wrist. Anthony’s elegant black-and-white attire made the phrase
“simply dressed” a description of the newest deadly sin—one a woman would
gladly commit. His exquisitely tailored clothing outlined a physique women
dreamed of having beside them—in bed or out. Broad shoulders and a strong chest
filled the evening jacket while his breeches encased a flat belly and long
legs. Emily bit her lip in a futile attempt to drive away what this perfect
male body would look like without its fine clothing.
    He accepted one of the cloaks from Orlando and draped it
over Emily’s shoulders. It might have been her imagination, but a wave of heat
radiated through his gloves as his hands lingered on her. Standing so close,
she could not help but breathe in a scent like autumn sunshine, rich and
masculine. His scent.
    “Thank you, Orlando,” Jocelyn said after Anthony had put her
cloak around her shoulders. “We’ll be back by midnight. And for mercy’s sake,
if my husband comes home send for me at once.”
    “Very good, my lady.” Orlando withdrew and Jocelyn gave them
a glittering smile. “Come, my dears. Let’s introduce Emily to the ton .
The sooner they know London’s newest heiress is under the protection of the
Duke of Bradford, the better.”
    * * * * *
    “Are you sure about this, Emily?” Anthony peered at her
through the darkness of his carriage as they clattered through the near-silent
streets. “Going back to my hotel, I mean.”
    “Well, since Jocelyn got her wish and Hugh returned, we
wouldn’t want to disturb them, would we?” A playful note entered Emily’s voice.
“I’m quite sure they’ve long retired, aren’t you?”
    “That’s not exactly what I meant,” Anthony said. “Are you
sure that you want—”
    “Us to be lovers? Yes. We’ve always been friends, Anthony. I
know you would never hurt or betray me. I trust you implicitly. Who else but
you to help me experience pleasure? It’s the perfect arrangement.”
    “So it is,” he agreed. “And you’re right about not going
back to Jocelyn’s. Hugh Rolfe would kill anyone interrupting him making love to
her after being gone so long. So to save our own lives we should let them have
the house to themselves and go back to my hotel for the night.”
    Her soft laugh rippled over him. “You see? You’re the
perfect protector.”
    Leaning forward, Anthony clasped her hands between his.
“I’ll try to be everything you want me to be,” he promised. “In bed and out of
it as well.”
    For a moment, concern pulled her eyebrows together. “What
will the other guests at your hotel think when they see us arrive at this time
of night?”
    “It’s a private residence, Emmie,” he said, using her
childhood nickname. “The only people who live there are my friends who also
keep rooms and the staff who are, of course, completely loyal to us, the
owners. They won’t say a word. But if you’re worried, we can use the entrance
in the back so no one will see